Stormy Weather: Navigating Profitability in the NFP Hospital Space with Kevin Holloran

Hospitals had a rough 2022 as they faced higher labor and supply costs, volatile patient volumes, and fragile payer relations. More than half of hospitals in 2022 are expected to result in negative margins, according to Kaufman Hall. Kevin Holloran, Senior Director at Fitch Ratings, said 2022 was “one of the worst years ever in healthcare,” and he projected hospitals would face a bumpy 2023.

On this episode of Healthcare Rethink, Jonathan Wiik, VP of Health Insights at FinThrive and Kevin Holloran dig deeper into financial performance for health systems and hospitals.

Topics covered:

  • Headwinds affecting the not-for-profit hospital sector and what is driving those headwinds
  • Advice for CFOs and recommendation to insulate operations and profitability
  • Thoughts on M&A activity
  • How the future of payer/provider collaboration may look
  • Issues affecting profitability from labor to patient volumes and possible impact from recent legislation

Recent Episodes

Healthcare systems are entering 2026 under mounting pressure. A growing, aging population and rising disease burden are colliding with persistent workforce shortages—highlighted by projections that new cancer diagnoses in the U.S. will surpass two million this year alone. The stakes are no longer theoretical: delays in care, limited specialist access, and widening disparities are…

Mental health care isn’t a new problem—but it’s finally being treated like an urgent one. After years of being sidelined, the cracks in the system are becoming impossible to ignore: overstretched clinicians, long wait times, and entire communities without consistent access to care. In the U.S., the scale is striking—more than one in five…

Healthcare innovation is having a moment. With over 500 startups applying annually to leading accelerators like Health Wildcatters, the sector is seeing a surge of founders eager to tackle inefficiencies in care delivery, diagnostics, and patient experience. At the same time, digital health is regaining momentum—after a period of market correction, funding went up…